LUCKNOW, Oct. 26 -- Retired IAS officer Ram Bahadur, who contested the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket, is set to join the Samajwadi Party on Monday in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. His induction comes as the SP seeks to expand its support among Dalits, including the Pasi community, under its PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) strategy ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Bahadur contested the Mohanlalganj (SC) seat in 2017 but lost by around 530 votes. He later floated his own political outfit, the Nagrik Ekta Party. In January 2022, ahead of the Assembly elections, he joined the BJP but remained relatively inactive. During the BSP regime, Bahadur was regarded as one of Mayawati's preferred bureaucrats. He served as vice-chairman of the LDA and Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), and also held the post of DM of Gonda. A former provincial civil service (PCS) officer who was promoted to the IAS, Bahadur was also associated with the Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF). His entry adds to the recent induction of leaders from rival political parties into the SP as it prepares for the 2027 Assembly elections. Ten days after launching her political outfit and announcing plans to contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, former IAS officer Divya Mittal on Saturday said the party intends to contest all 403 seats in the state. Interacting with people in Chunar, Mirzapur, she said, "Our party, Janneeti Bharat, will contest the assembly elections. We will contest the elections wherever we find strong candidates among the 403 seats." Mittal, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Service last month after a 13-year career, launched the party on October 15....